Take a stroll through the Picos de Europa, Spain’s biggest National Park, join the famous ‘Running of the Bulls’ festival down the streets of Pamplona and tantalise your tastebuds with a picnic of regional delicacies overlooking the mountains in Asturias - all possible on the best guided tours of Spain.
Home to the culinary capital of the world, it is only right that touring a foodie’s paradise includes unparalleled gastronomy. Regional favourites produced straight from the field, fish pulled straight from the ocean and fruit and vegetables straight from the farmers’ markets and onto our plates. With the world’s best steak, cheese and lamb all on the menu, a guided tour of the landscape should only accentuate all that is on offer here.
Highlights of Spain include more than just delicious food. Two of the best wine regions in the world both reside in the northern Spanish countryside. Ribera del Duero and Rioja are blessed with the ideal climatic conditions for growing grapes, which means they also produce the most exquisite wines.
The best guided tours of Spain are private. Period. Forget about the coach load of tourists trailing behind you through a busy city or the bus driver that restricts you with a time limit at each location. With Eat Northern Spain, we work to your schedule, offering all the perks of travelling independently but without any of the stress that usually comes with it.
If you wake up with a headache and no longer fancy that hike up the mountain, then allow us to offer you an alternative instead. We will offer up our years of wisdom on the area by making suggestions that we are sure you will love, but ultimately you have complete control over how you wish to spend your time in the region.
All Eat Northern Spain tours are tailor-made and exclusive. From dining options to unique experiences and hotel choices, we hand select every part of your itinerary to match your criteria and we handle all the details. The only thing you need to arrange is getting to the airport on time (and we can even help with that too).
Our best guided tours of Spain are all Eat Northern Spain tours because why mess with perfection. Culinary delights are the central focus of all our tours of Spain, as is seeking the most authentic, cultural experiences for our guests while never missing a beat on luxury.
There is no such thing as a bad time to visit Spain, so private tours are available year-round and give a new meaning to the term ‘all-inclusive’. With Eat Northern Spain, we provide everything you could possibly need (and more): all transfers in a luxury Mercedes with a personal chauffeur; a local English speaking guide on hand for the entirety of your trip; 24hr concierge service; breakfast with a view at your hotel every morning; all Michelin-starred, signature and traditional restaurants with drinks included; all one-of-a-kind experiences listed in the itinerary; and accommodation in the most exclusive, boutique hotels that are the embodiment of complete and utter luxury.
Hotels are hand selected from the very best that Spain has to offer. From 12th century monasteries to quintessential hideaways nestled among the vineyards, you will sleep like royalty on any of our guided tours.
Imagine waking up to the faint sound of knocking at your door, which happens to be room service delivering your breakfast on a silver platter, before being met at reception by your local guide, who is taking you out for a day of local, cultural experiences - alongside exceptional food and wine. That is what a trip to northern Spain should look like and while you decide which experiences to add to your bucket list, allow us to entice you further.
Here is our countdown of the best guided tours of Spain…
Authentic Foodie Tour
Taking the top spot in our best guided tours of Spain is the Authentic Foodie Tour. This 14 day masterpiece itinerary will see you eating and drinking your way through the Spanish countryside on one delicious adventure. Land in Bilbao Airport and begin your tour west towards Santiago de Compostela, the last stop in the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.
Be prepared for some extraordinary wildlife encounters (bears and capercaillies among them), guided walks through northern Spain’s most beautiful cities, panoramic drives and evenings spent in the country’s most exclusive and luxurious hotels.
Aptly named the ‘Authentic Foodie Tour’, there are lots of tasty bites on the menu, including: a cider bar crawl paired with delicious local tapas; stunning wineries and a number of guided tasting sessions; an afternoon with a family-run cheesemaker in the mountains; as well as farmers’ markets, fishing ports and endless regional delicacies served in local restaurants.
One of the tour’s highlights… a remarkable evening in Pamplona, where the ‘Running of the Bulls’ (Spain’s most popular festival) takes over the city.
The Authentic Foodie Tour is for those as passionate about great food as we are, who want to experience the real, authentic Spain, while eating and drinking at some of the best restaurants and greatest wineries in the world.
The Ultimate Food and Wine Tour
Our second choice for the best guided tours of Spain is The Ultimate Food and Wine Tour. Spend 10 days travelling from the beautiful city of Madrid to the one of the leading food meccas in the world, San Sebastian.
You will get a real sense of the local lifestyle here in Spain as you delve deep into the backroads of the Spanish countryside, in search of delicious flavours. From what has been named by many as the ‘best steak in the world’ to hand carved ‘Jamón Ibérico’ and a traditional ‘asador’ who has perfected the craft of cooking mouth-watering lamb on an open fire, the flavours here are bountiful.
It won’t just be the region’s most delicious food on the menu, you will also be sampling one-of-a-kind wines in Ribera del Duero, Spain’s world-famous wine region, because we don’t settle for anything less than perfect so neither should you.
Like all Eat Northern Spain tours, you will be treated like royalty throughout your trip. From 24hr service and a private chauffeur to resting your head in the most lavish hotels northern Spain has to offer.
The Ultimate Food and Wine Tour is perfect for those seeking an authentic culinary tour through northern Spain but without having to travel as far west as our first choice of tour.
Eight Days of Culinary Mastery (or one of our best guided tours of Spain)
Our best guided tours of Spain have to include Eight Days of Culinary Mastery. An ideal itinerary for those with a limited amount of time on the clock, this pit stop tour will pull out all the highlights from Madrid to San Sebastian to ensure you make the most of your time in this beautiful region.
Included on the menu: black truffles infused into locally made delicacies (after you have been hunting for them with our specialist dogs); Lechazo, slow-cooked lamb roasted on an open fire; traditional Basque entrees; and exclusive access to the finest wineries in northern Spain, Rioja and Ribera del Duero.
Exquisite culinary delights may be at the centre of all our tours, but authentic cultural experiences are just as important and they will not be forgotten on this tour. Visit the Guggenheim Museum and marvel at the world-acclaimed art from both Spanish and international artists (the architecture is also exceptional) and learn to pour cider just like a local on a bar crawl through the most vibrant places in town.
You may only have eight days but you will certainly not be missing out on luxury. All Eat Northern Spain tours are equipped with a local guide, private chauffeur and reservations in the most lavish, boutique hotels that only those in the know have heard of.
Embark on eight days of culinary mastery and immerse yourself into Spanish life while enjoying the very best of the rural countryside.
Camino de Santiago Luxury Tour
Number four on our best guided tours of Spain, the Camino de Santiago Luxury Tour. Two weeks of action-packed adventure, this luxury tour will see you hit the ground running in Bilbao as you make your way west to the beautiful city of Santiago de Compostela.
All of Eat Northern Spain’s tours are filled to the brim with culinary gems and this one is no exception. From standing face to face with the seven-feet oxen that go on to become the world’s best steak to taking a stroll through the vineyards that produce the world’s best wines, you will spend two weeks with Spain’s best food and wine at your fingertips.
And along the way: a traditional pintxos bar crawl; authentic ‘Jamón Ibérico’ straight from the knife of a professional; a local farmers’ market in San Sebastian; and an endless amount of wine. Because a tour of northern Spain that does not involve sampling all the local wines is no tour at all.
Aside from eating and drinking your way through northern Spain, there will be ample opportunity for you to immerse yourself into Spanish life and see what living like a local truly feels like. From marvelling at beautiful cathedrals and cruising along a picturesque river, to joining the pilgrims for a scenic walk along the Camino de Santiago trail and chasing the ‘Running of the Bulls’ down the streets of Pamplona, all the way to the Bullfighting Arena.
Culture runs deep here and history oozes from every corner, meaning a Camino de Santiago Luxury Tour could be the perfect way to experience a part of Spain far from the mass crowds and tourist traps.
Camino de Santiago in Eight Days
Last but by no means least, number five in our best guided tours of Spain, Camino de Santiago in eight days. An abbreviated version of the Camino de Santiago Luxury Tour, for those with less time but still a deep desire to experience the highlights of the region.
Travelling from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela, all our favourite culinary delights are still included. From the best steak in the world, which will be enjoyed in an old cave (renovated into a local grill restaurant) on the backroads of the Spanish countryside, to ‘Jamón Ibérico’ carved by a professional and lots of delicious flavours from local restaurants.
Feel the breeze through your hair on a trip along the river Miño in a private luxury vessel, marvel at the magnificent Casa Botines, designed by the world-renowned architect, Antoni Gaudi, and take a tour of some of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, standing in León, Burgos and Santiago.
Evenings will include: medieval castles; stone staircases; opulent chandeliers; four-poster beds; world-class spas; 7th century monasteries turned lavish hotels; and sleeping like royalty just steps away from Santiago’s breathtaking cathedral.
This eight day tour is an ideal introduction into the real, authentic Spain. From one-of-a-kind immersive experiences to the very best local food and wines. You will spend eight days feeling like a King, while touring like a local.
Conclusion
Our top five best guided tours of Spain all offer something unique to those seeking an authentic experience here. All Eat Northern Spain tours are tailor-made and offer the epitome of luxury travel, whilst seeking out cultural experiences that will make your time here truly memorable.
Regardless of how much time you have away from home or what your personal interests entail, we can tailor-make a tour just for you. We even offer adventures that see our clients travelling from Spain to Portugal, for those wanting a culinary tour that ticks two countries off their bucket list for the price of one. Click to see a full range of our bespoke itineraries in Spain & Portugal, or get in touch to build your own.